Why Can't I Play?
by blame-my-ADD
Summary: This is a story I wrote for English class. Its a flashback story inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird... wow summaries are hard to write. Please R&R.


This is actaully an english project that I had to do based on To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. We had to write a narrative about an adult who's thinking about an insignifacant time in his/her life that taught them something important, like Scout had. I got a 98% on it. Yay! but I still want your opinions and stuff.

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plot of this story belongs to me so no stealing.... not that you'd want to

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It was the Fourth of July and the day was ending nicely. The sun was setting delightfully, leaving in the sky, a fusion of bright oranges and pinks. Few clouds rolled by, casting light shadows on the park below. The smoky smell of grilled hotdogs and hamburgers filled the air while the laughter of children and excited chattering surrounded me. As I waited for the fireworks show to start, I watched the younger additions to my family run wildly through the grass. Soon the sound of a child's cry came to my ears. I turned to see a little girl crying because she dropped her Independence Day ice cream on the floor. Watching her, I couldn't help but think back to that cold day in august.

Summer was coming to its end. School was going to start in a couple weeks with me finally being a freshman. I was planning on attending my first high school party that night but my parents wouldn't let me go. Frustrated, I stormed out to the park down the street. The wind nipped bitterly at my cheeks as I let it dry my tears. I sat on the hard, wooden bench and watched the sun set behind the trees taking my hopes of partying along with it. I looked around at the younger children playing at the playground. I watched as the swings creaked with every push. The children laughed as they went down the slide. A game of freeze tag was going on as older kids played on the monkey bars. To my right a small group of boys, about 5 or 6, were playing a modified game of football in the grassy area next to the playground. Watching them was an older woman, probably the mother of one of the kids, and a little boy. Over the grunts and shouts of the children, I could here the small child begging the mother to let him play.

"Please, please, please!" he pleaded, stomping his feet. I was taken aback at how similar I had acted not too long ago. His cries were drowned out by the yelling of the kids playing football. The mom simply shook her head before walking off into the field to breakup a fight that had broken out between two of the older boys. I remember thinking how she obviously couldn't allow him to play. If she did, he would get hurt. The older kids where twice his size and playing pretty rough. He would, without a doubt, get injured, unless the kids were extra careful. But, doing that would surely ruin their game which seemed based upon how hard they could tackle each other. It seemed the fight had started when one of the kids were tackled too hard and decided to tackled back. If she let him do what he wanted, something awful was bound to happen. Did my parents think something might happen to me? Were they trying to protect me from harm like the mother was doing to the little boy? Even so, I found it hard to watch as the little kid's eyes began to fill with tears. He was crying rather dramatically by the time his mom returned. "Why can't I play?" he choked out between sobs.

"Because." Was the answer he got as she knelt down and patted his head. She answered his question the same way my parents had answered mine, and it infuriated me. 'Because' was not a good enough reason even though it was pretty apparent to why. He deserved more of an explanation. I deserved more of an explanation.

"Please!" he pleaded again, stretching out the word as a fresh set of tears started down his face.

"Why don't you go play tag?" She pulled a tissue out of her purse and began wiping his nose. "I bet it'll be a lot more fun." She added. My parents tried that trick on me. 'Why don't you go hang out with Stephanie?' they said. 'You two always have a lot of fun together.' Both of their attempts failed.

The little boy shook his head and pointed to the group of boys. "But I wanna play with them." He wined, emphasizing 'them'. He was stomping once more. I noticed, once again, how similar I had acted. How could I have expected my parents to say yes, when I was acting like a 6 year old? Being immature certainly didn't help my case. The more I watched the boy's futile attempts at persuasion and the mother's persistence in her answer, the more I understood my own parents and their reasoning. When you have something you love, you do what you can to protect it. They denied my plea to go to the party to protect me because they loved me. The sun had completely disappeared behind the foliage bordering the park. Stars shined brightly in the darkening sky as children said their goodbyes before leaving with their parents. The football game had come to an unwanted end, but the boy's tears didn't. Now he upset because they were going home. I laughed quietly to myself as the boy tried to talk his mother into staying longer. It appears that what's important will change like the wind. Today it was a party. Tomorrow can bring a whole new matter to focus. Though now I know, no matter what it is, life will go on.

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Can you guess what the theme is? Pease read and review.


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